Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Scott Weiland, Guns N' Roses, Disturbed Supergroup
Art of Anarchy, a new supergroup featuring Scott Weiland (Velvet Revolver/Stone Temple Pilots), Guns N' Roses' Bumblefoot and Disturbed's John Moyer, have released a preview of their self-titled debut album.

The group was originally formed by Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal and twins Jon and Vince Votta, with Jon composing the music for the forthcoming album and Bumblefoot producing and engineering the effort.

Now the bad news for fans hoping for another Velvet Revolver; While the band recruited Weiland for the album, he says that he is not their permanent frontman and will not be touring with the group since he is focused on promoting "Blaster," the forthcoming album from his solo band Scott Weiland And The Wildabouts.

Weiland tells fans on Facebook, "I just saw some press about a side project called art of anarchy that I worked on last year - I wrote and put my vocals down for these guys and had fun doing a couple of videos too, we had a lot of fun. When they find their front man to hit the road and play some dates, check them out.

"In the meantime, if you want to check out where I'm at RIGHT NOW, check out my band, SCOTT WEILAND AND THE WILDABOUTS. I couldn't be more excited about our new record, Blaster, that comes out March 31st. You can see us on the road starting in Feb, and at Sundance next week and SXSW in March. Here's some footage of us in the studio performing White Lightning and a new song called Circles."

Art of Anarchy have posted a preview video of their forthcoming album, which they expect out sometime this spring, here and you can check out the band's Facebook page here.




Motley Crue Have Strong Reaction To Justin Bieber Question
(hennemusic) Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx gave Justin Bieber the double bird salute in response to a question from the morning news team at WGN-TV Chicago as they make the rounds to promote their farewell tour.

Following headlines that Bieber was seen hanging out with Keith Richards, WGN entertainment critic Dean Richards asked Sixx and singer Vince Neil what their reaction would be if the pop superstar approached the Crue to join them on stage.

While Neil shook his head at the thought, Sixx raised both hands with his middle fingers extended (the "double bird") on live TV, causing the morning hosts to erupt with laughter. Watch it here.




Ronnie James Dio Musical To Open This Spring
(hennemusic) A new musical that will feature the songs from the career of the late legendary metal vocalist Ronnie James Dio will see its world premiere in Australia this March.

"The Legend of Dio - A Metal Musical" - a fictional comedy based on Dio's music, lyrics and imagery - will include material from Dio, Black Sabbath and Rainbow as presented by members of three Melbourne-based bands.

Billed as "equal parts Tenacious D, Rock of Ages and Shakespeare," the musical stars William James Smith from H.M.A.S. Vendetta as Dio, Barbariön frontman Myles Tauchert as Satan and Kat Stargazer of Horizons Edge as wife/manager Wendy Dio.

"The Legend of Dio - A Metal Musical" will premiere on March 6 at The Corner Hotel in Richmond. Read more here.




Megadeth Hope To Release Album With New Lineup This Year
(hennemusic) Megadeth bassist David Ellefson has confirmed the band are planning to release an album this year with a new lineup following the recent departures of guitarist Chris Broderick and drummer Shawn Drover.

Both players issued separate statements in late November - just hours apart - that they were leaving to pursue their own musical interests; they have since confirmed plans to launch a new band together.

Now, Ellefson reflects on the lineup change, telling Spotlight Report "It is obviously going to be different without them. We spent five years together with them in that lineup, that is a long time. We did multiple live albums with them, two studio albums, we toured together. So it's a bit like some family members are gone."

"Especially through the holidays, I've kinda been a little sad about it," he continued, "I realize that they wanted to move onto something else and I support them as my friends, but selfishly I'm definitely going to miss them for sure. Things are moving forward of course and there will be a new development happening on that front."

Asked about the timing of the follow-up to 2013's "Super Collider", Ellefson says "It's supposed to come out later this year!" Read more here.




Rob Zombie Wrapping Up Work On 'Best Album Yet'
(hennemusic) Rob Zombie tells fans in a new tweet that he has completed mixing his 5th solo album, which he says is his "best album yet". The forthcoming album marks the follow-up to 2013's "Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor", which debuted in the US Top 10.

The rocker tweeted: "Just finished the final mixes with @zeuss1 for the new studio album. Best album yet. No joke." Zombie worked on the project with producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris (Hatebreed, All That Remains, Shadows Fall).

Zombie friend, photographer Rob Fenn, raved about Zombie's new music, tweeting "So EXCITED for this to come out. I was lucky enough to hear one of the songs while we were on the road, and can say what I heard was UNf***ingREAL!!!!" Read more here.




Foo Fighters Star's Lieutenant Side Project Announce Album
(Classic Rock) Foo Fighters bassist Nate Mendel is gearing up to launch the debit album from side-project Lieutenant, he's revealed. He performs vocal and guitar duties on If I Kill This Thing We're All Going To Eat For A Week, which appears via Dine Alone Music on March 10.

Mendel is joined on the record by Helmet's Page Hamilton, Modest Mouse's Joe Plumber and Head And The Heart's Josiash Johnson. It features guest appearances from Foos bandmate Chris Shiflett and Jeremy Enigk from Mendel's other band Sunny Day Real Estate.

If I Kill This Thing... is currently available to pre-order in a variety of bundles, including t-shirt packages and orange vinyl. Mendel has released a stream of album track Rattled - hear it here.




Agnostic Front Reveal New Album Details
Agnostic Front have announced the release of their new studio album, The American Dream Died, which will be released on April 4th in Europe and April 7th in North America.

The album was produced by Madball frontman Freddy Cricien and Paul Miner (H2O, Terror) engineered, mixed and mastered the effort which also feature a guest appearance from Cricien as well as H2O's Toby Morse and Sick Of It All's Lou Koller.

Agnostic Front vocalist Roger Miret had this explanation for the album title, "We chose this title because we want to open up people's eyes to what's going on in this country. We have a lot to say. Not everyone realizes that our government and the people who run this country are so corrupt, greedy and ruthless."

He adds, "Everything's we stood for as a country is going down the drain. But we still somewhat have our freedom of speech. We're expressing it all through this record while we can." Check out the tracklisting here.




We Came As Romans Recording New Album With David Bendeth
We Came As Romans have announced that they have started recording their new studio album with producer David Bendeth (Bring Me The Horizon, Paramore, Underoath). The band expects to release the new effort this summer.

Frontman Dave Stephens had this to say about working with the award winning producer, "Working with David [Bendeth] has been very educational as well as humbling.

"We've not only become better musicians from this experience, but have learned a lot about writing and what it takes to make a great song. His honesty has made us all push ourselves to the limit as musicians, to make the best record possible.

"We've never collectively worked this hard, passionately, and as tediously as we have on these songs. 'Blood, sweat, and tears' isn't a figure of speech for us anymore, it's the honest truth of the ingredients that went into this process."




Richie Sambora Enjoying Post Bon Jovi Freedom
(Classic Rock) Former Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora says that he's much happier with the freedom he's found working with fellow guitar maestro Orianthi, who he teamed up with for his solo work in the wake of his departure from Bon Jovi.

He says: "That's the interesting thing that I feel somehow is missing in music today is people actually having a musical conversation and jamming on stage, having some improvisation happen.

"I demand that, because I was obviously starved for that a lot in Bon Jovi. I mean, you're pretty much in that frame and that's it. So now I can go out there and both of us, we just feel each other's rhythms and grooves at the same point.

"From the first time we ever went out on stage together, it was just a magical thing and everybody saw it. From there, we just kept on going. What's happening now is that both of our musical views, Ori's and mine, we're kind of bringing a lot of people together and it's becoming interesting." Read more here.



Graham Bonnet Launches Archives Series
(Classic Rock) Former Rainbow, Alcatrazz and Michael Schenker Group frontman Graham Bonnet has released, Private i: The Archives Vol.1, the first volume in his solo archive series.

The collection contains previously unreleased solo material recorded in 1975 following his departure from The Marbles and before he replaced Ronnie James Dio in Rainbow in 1979.

Bonnet recalls: "Those sessions were great fun and it was exciting to be recording for the first time my own compositions. We had some great people playing on the record. I recall Rick Wakeman was on one track, along with Phillip Goodhand-Tait, and my wife at the time actress Adrienne Posta. I played a lot of the instruments, as did my producer Kaplin Kaye."

The recordings have been fully remastered. Read more details here.



Muse Preview New Song In Studio Video
(Radio.com) Muse are kicking off 2015 just as they ended 2014: teasing fans with videos from the studio. The band posted the first video of the new year Tuesday (Jan. 20), once again giving fans a taste of what they're working on. A very tiny nibble.

This clip features what seems to be Matt Bellamy in the shadows playing a bluesy guitar riff. No one else is with him. There's no other sound, just Matt and his guitar.

It sounds like a sort of sad Mississippi Delta blues guitar that Robert Johnson would play. Of course, it's unclear whether this is for the new album or not.

This new video is much different then the one they posted in December, which featured an orchestra. Bellamy previously told fans to expect "things to get heavy," but at this point, we're thinking he means emotionally.

Muse have been recording the band's seventh album for three-and-a-half months and are reportedly working with the legendary producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange on the follow-up to 2012's The 2nd Law.





Jack White Gets His Own Official Baseball Card
(Radio.com) It's no secret that Jack White is an avid professional baseball fan, regularly seen at games rooting on his hometown Detroit Tigers. Now White's fandom has resulted in the guitar hero being graced with his very own baseball card.

The official card will be part of the 2015 Topps Series 1 set, appearing on what's known as a First Pitch Insert card sporting a vintage Tigers jersey in a shot taken when he threw out the first pitch at a Detroit home game last summer.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Insert cards are rarer and harder to find than ones included in the annual base set. There is no indication yet of just how rare the Jack White card will prove to be.

See the card it all its glory here.




Death Cab for Cutie Debut Three New Songs Live
(Radio.com) Death Cab for Cutie have recently announced the band's eighth full-length album, Kintsugi, due for March 31 of this year. This album is particularly noteworthy because it will be the last featuring founding member, guitarist, and producer Chris Walla.

Now, thanks to a special intimate show in their hometown of Seattle Tuesday night (Jan. 20) at the Crocodile, we have a little bit of an idea what the new record will sound like. Revolt points out that three new songs were played, and they even got recordings of the new jams.

Besides playing the new songs, the performance was noteworthy as being their first without Walla. Check out the clips of the new tracks, titled 'The Ghosts of Beverly Drive," 'No Room In Frame," and 'Black Sun" respectively here.




The Enid Seek Fans Help In Legal Fight
(Classic Rock) The Enid have launched an urgent bid for help to continue a legal battle that they say is essential to the band's survival. The Progressive Music Awards nominees report they've won every round in their fight against former label boss Gerald Palmer, who they say's claiming ownership of their name and catalogue.

Robert John Godfrey and co need £15,000 immediately - or they may be forced to abandon the fight, or find a new approach that'll wipe out their courtroom successes to date and require the finding of much more cash.

But they've already secured the support of a "mysterious magician" who's vowed to contribute 50% on top of whatever their fans raise. The Enid spent £17,000 on legal fees last year. They say in a statement: "In 2009 Palmer applied to the trademark registry to own the band's name. Robert terminated his contracts with the benefit of legal advice. Palmer refused to accept these terminations, leaving us no option but to take action. Palmer was found by a court in 2012 to have acted dishonestly and in bad faith when he claimed to be the owner of the band's name. He has laid claim to the copyrights of all Robert's music.

"The band's company issued proceedings against Palmer last year with the help of a specialist barrister. Having won every stage of the battle so far, we need our barrister to win the case. If we lose through lack of legal representation, we may never recover." Read more here.




Ray Davies Looks Back At The Kinks 'You Really Got Me'
(Classic Rock) Ray Davies believes that he wouldn't have been able to create classic Kinks track You Really Got Me if he'd been a more experienced songwriter. The 1964 piece was the band's third single and first hit, making them one of the main players in the British Invasion of the US. It's often referenced as a major inspiration for the fledgling heavy rock and heavy metal genres.

Frontman Davies tells Rock Cellar: "It was probably the third of fourth song I'd ever written. I think if I'd been an accomplished songwriter I wouldn't have written it - there's something naive and basic about it.

"If I'd been accomplished I wouldn't have written it in the key I did, and I probably wouldn't have made that key shift, which was quite revolutionary but became common after we did it."

But the Kinks' first number one single came with a downside. Read about that here.



Hawk Eyes Streaming New Song 'Enemies'
(Prog) Hawk Eyes have released a stream of their track Enemies, taken from third album Everything Is Fine. The follow-up to 2012's Ideas is launched on February 9 via Red Vole and it's available to pre-order from the band's Pledge page.

Frontman Paul Astick recently told TeamRock that the new album took 20 months to complete, explaining: "There were points all of us had to walk away and put it down for a few weeks.

Reflection and patience are the greatest tools we use when recording. If we're bored after 10 listens, why expect someone who hasn't been involved to stay interested? This album was sculpted rather than recorded."

The band previously released a promo for the track Die Trying. They hit the road on a headlining tour across the UK in February, supported by God Damn. Check out the dates and stream the new song here.



Hawkwind Reveal 'Space Ritual Live' Release Details
(Prog) Hawkwind have announced plans to release Space Ritual Live on double album and DVD next month. The band revisited their 1973 album Space Ritual Alive last year at a benefit concert for animal rights groups at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire.

They played the album in full and now the deluxe edition featuring 2CD and 2DVD will launch on February 23 via Gonzo Multimedia. The standard DVD/CD and double CD editions will be released on March 23.

Pre-orders are now being taken, and those using flyers given out at the gig to purchase the album will automatically receive the deluxe edition. Check out the track details here.




Von Hertzen Brothers Releasing New Album 'New Day Rising'
(Prog) Von Hertzen Brothers will release sixth album New Day Rising on March 23, they've confirmed - and it's to be followed by three UK dates as part of a European tour.

The ten-track title was produced by Garth 'GGGarth' Richardson and it's available for pre-order on Amazon and iTunes via Spinefarm. Frontman Mikko Von Hertzen says: "I've never been prouder of anything we've done. Together we raised the bar to a whole new level - and only time will tell if we'll ever be able to beat that or raise the bar even more. I mean, we're talking some serious Sergey Bubka heights here!"

Richardson adds: "It's been a while since I've been so taken aback by a band. VHB did this to me. The brothers' drive, passion and musicality are like no other. The bar has been raised." Read more here.




Cradle Of Filth Update Fans On New Album Progress
(TeamRock Radio) Cradle Of Filth have issued another studio update on the progress of their upcoming album. They revealed earlier this month that Richard Shaw was recording guitars for their 11th album, which is tentatively titled Hammer Of The Witches.

Now bassist Daniel Firth is contributing to the process - and they say Filth will lay down his vocals next week. The band say in a statement: "January 20th marks the onset of Cradle Of Filth bassist Daniel Firth heading into Grindstone Studios in the haunted wilds of Suffolk, England to add his five finger prowess to the new Cradle album, codenamed Hammer Of The Witches.

"This grand opus nocturne, which is destined for release via Nuclear Blast on June 26th, has already borne witness to drummer Martin 'Marthus' Skaroupka and guitarists Marek 'Ashok' Smerda and Richard 'Haunted' Shaw committing their very respectable talents to the proceedings - now it's time for the true bass of evil to show his mark." Read more here.




King 810 Release Live Version Of 'Desperate Lovers'
(TeamRock Radio) King 810 have launched a live version of their track Desperate Lovers, taken from their album Memoirs Of A Murderer. It was released in August via Roadrunner Records and set them on the road to a support slot with Slipknot and Korn on their Prepare For Hell tour, currently crossing the UK.

Frontman David Gunn recently told Metal Hammer: "This record is about our lives - we don't punch out and go home at the end of the day, take the mask off and go hang out at the bar.

"We crossed a bridge and burnt it behind us. There was no other option, Plan B, college or any other sh*t. We sat right here, making as much noise as we could until someone noticed. And someone did." Check out the song here.




Asking Alexandria, Silvertide Sidegroup We Are Harlot Set Album Release
(TeamRock Radio) We Are Harlot will release their self-titled debut album on March 31, they've announced. The band featuring Asking Alexandria frontman Danny Worsnop, Sebastian Bach's former guitarist Jegg George, Silvertide bassist Brian Weaver and drummer Bruno Agra will launch the 11-track studio outing via Roadrunner Records, who the band inked a deal with last year.

They previously revealed they wanted to call the group Harlot but copyright issues resulted in them sticking with their chosen name. And they say they got together to record the album as they wanted to focus people's attention on rock music.

They said: "We knew that rock music needed a facelift fast and that real rock 'n' roll needed to be back front and centre again. That's why we are here - to bring this music to a whole new generation of people that have been screaming out for what they deserve."

They've also issued a music video for album opener Dancing On Nails. View it here.




Singled Out: The Kontroversy's Keep Goin'
Today Kevin Sanders from 60s style rockers The Kontroversy tells us about the song "Keep Goin'" from their brand new album "Reprise". Here is the story:

After playing around the Kansas City area for four years, and releasing an EP on Kansas City's legendary Titan Records, things seemed to be coming together for my band, The Kontroversy. We had started recording some songs for an album, when our bass player, Fred Prellberg, announced that he was leaving the group to finish his college degree in order to obtain a promotion at his day job. Around the same time, the lead guitarist, Ken Carey, said that he had to put the band on hold while he sorted out some personal issues with his family.

The song "Keep Goin'" is my plea to the band members to keep the band together. I noticed that some of my favorite bands had songs with what seemed to be a similar subject matter, such as The Beach Boys' "Do It Again," The Kinks' "Do It Again," and my former band, The Leopards' "Back on the Track" So I thought, this would be my contribution to the subject and I reference these songs in the lyrics.

Fred got his degree, was promoted, and transferred to Chicago. The drummer, who is my brother Tim, and I lost touch with Ken, but we did keep in touch with Fred. The years went by and early in 2014, Ken found Tim and me on Facebook and expressed an interest in playing with us again.

We got together but Ken was too busy playing in two other bands and running weekly jam sessions an a local KC club to make a commitment. This made me realize that I didn't have good recordings of the songs I had been writing since the break-up of the band. I contacted Fred and my brother to gauge their interest in recording these songs and finishing up the recordings we started 30 years ago. They were excited by the prospect of a new Kontroversy album and Fred agreed to make some trips to KC to record. The result is a new album, Reprise, released on January 6, 2015 on my own label, RBR Records. "Keep Goin'" is included on the album.